A Family Affair
by Floppybunny
Summary: When another pair of red eyes appears hiding deep within the dank banks of the Mist it will be up to Itachi and Kisame to track down the stubborn flight risk. When they catch the possible Uchiha will they kill them or drag them into the Akatsuki hideout to play a rousing game of interrogation? Rated M for later content when Itachi remembers he's not as celibate as he thought...
1. Chapter 1

Tall reeds swayed in the wind brushing against Taki's thighs as she hunched down in the muddy bog water. Her sleek black hair was pulled tightly away from her face to prevent obscuring her view. She could smell the disgusting putrid water as she sank further into it, her padded ninja gear growing damp. The night air was settling the wind dying down making her itchy and restless. She was waiting for a specific target to pass through the banks of the Mist to try and gain access into their village. Well, it wasn't her village, it never was her village, they would never let her become a part of the village. However, she had no desire to destroy her current workings with the Mizukage to seek freedom. Her eyes were trained on the darkness that bent out in front of her boring her patience. The Kage was always giving her something stupid to take care of, tying up loose ends, or plotting some way for her to take down Konoha. The problem was that Taki had no intent on helping the Kage defeat her enemies. In fact she was becoming rather fond of the idea of coming out to Konoha or going to the Akatsuki seeking refuge. The very thought of exposing the Mizukage as a traitor was a treasured one. Konoha would surely destroy the Mist when they found out the she'd been secretly harboring an Uchiha that no one knew about. Of course, she could go to the Akatsuki and join forces with Itachi. Either one would benefit her assuming neither one would kill her. However she didn't even know who she was born too or how she'd come to existence.

Itachi sighed heavily as he passed through the forest with Kisame growing ever near the renowned Mist village. Kisame was becoming bothersome as he cracked joke after joke about his old home town giving Itachi that half lipped smirk. He touted his sword on his back delicately. As they came closer to the village it wriggled more and more unnerving him to an end point.

"Will you tame that thing…talk to it, something…make it stay still." He muttered glancing sideways at Kisame annoyed. Kisame rose an eyebrow chuckling reaching behind himself to stroke the blade he carried. It quivered before settling staying silent as they entered the bog banks of the river. He trudged through the muddy water his cloak sagging around his knees. Kisame seemed eager to enter his famed village with an evil glint in the corner of his eyes.

"Why are you so agitated this evening?" he asked the raven in a much kinder tone than he used around anyone else. Over the years he'd grown to see the punk as more of a younger sibling than comrade.

"Because you won't shut up." He stated blandly continuing to walk forward with no purpose but to enter the village.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshi…" Itachi stopped moving putting a hand up to signal Kisame's halt. Having become partially blind from time to time he'd learned to hone his hearing to a delicate form. He'd heard a movement about eight feet away to his left in the water.

"Come on out kid. I already heard you. Your position's given." He said in a dead tone waiting patiently to see the gennin he assumed was hiding.

Taki panicked. Out. Right. Panicked. The Kage had set her up. These two members of the Akatsuki would be her worst enemies. She couldn't fight Itachi without giving herself away and she couldn't fight Kisame without him realizing her style of battle. Either one would be a dead giveaway to her heritage. She froze hearing the elder Uchiha speak towards her general vicinity. Her skin crawled with nerves like a thousand tiny bugs prickling their way over her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as a cold breeze blew across the water's surface. She held her breath shifting her weight in the water. She would only have about five seconds to run for it, three if she were lucky. What would happen if she ran though? The Kage would surely try her for treason. Her family member was a murderer and she'd not stopped him from entering the village. That would be enough for treason. If she stayed who knew what would happen to her, or how Itachi would react to her existence. He took a step forward calling out for her to reveal herself again. It was like a light went off in sheer panic in the back of her head. Afraid to run and afraid to hide her brain chose for her. She sucked in a deep breath standing up in the still waters.

Kisame let out a slow deep breath watching the porcelain female rise from the water. She was pale as the moon that hung over the sky above reflecting into the water. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail; it was as black as the shadows surrounding her, as black as her eyes. She was tall and lithe, delicate for a kunoichi. However, he saw the gentle promise of sinewy muscles hiding just below the surface of her skin that would no doubt burst with life when she was in battle. Her face was lean and oval the only thing that marred the girl's physical presence was a long scar starting just below where her left ear met her neck, running down the side of her neck, and continued underneath the shell of her fighting gear. It wasn't unlike the ANBU gear worn by Konoha and by Itachi when he'd first come to the Akatsuki. In fact, if he didn't know any better, it was almost like looking into a mirror of that memory. Only differences were the gentle curves that barely rose on her chest. They weren't much to look at he thought. It was just enough to albeit him that she was indeed a female. Itachi stood stark still as his eyes met the girl's in front of them.

"Who are you?" he asked in a shallow voice. The dank air now felt like ice covering the fog rising off the banks of the river cutting through his chest. She was most definitely an Uchiha. There was no denying the skin, eyes, and hair. It was a distinct amount of traits that tingled his senses. She stood motionless staring back at him. Her shoulders were set tense as her chest slightly rose and fell with anxiousness. The silence was beginning to drag a thickness against the night like a shroud.

"I said, who are you?" He declared in a much louder and authoritative natured voice. How would she answer? How could she answer…she didn't know who she really was let alone who she was born too…She caught movement from the corner of her eyes just in time. Kisame attacked like a flash of lightening. It was a game of course, rousing her attention as a response, but she was quick enough to deflect him.

Her right arm swung up as he threw his sword down in an arc aimed at her shoulder meaning to slice her in half. She caught his infamous blade against her shield on her arm locking the wrist with her other hand curled around her forearm. She successfully made a rectangular block of which Kisame recognized and grinned. He forced her about a foot back on the water and into the mud on the bank watching her grit her teeth against the weight and force he was applying.

"You've been trained by the Mizukage herself." He said pushing down with even more force. She let heavy breath through her nose narrowing her eyes. He was strong but not enough to yield her to her knees. It was only a moment before she smirked her eyes flicking up to meet his.

"And you obviously never finished yours sharkman." She quickly twisted her waist and back towards him. She let the weight fall off her arms sliding past her with the force he was applying. He couldn't correct his falling weight as it shifted forward. She threw her elbows deep into his stomach clutching her fists together giving it a harder swing. He doubled over coughing in surprise as she slammed her head up, the back of hers colliding with the front of his face. The sheer magnitude of it threw him partially backwards making him stumble before he fell on his butt in the shallow water. His nose dripped bright red blood and his vision blurred before refocusing. Itachi rose an eyebrow as she stood up glancing down at him across from the two feet of space she'd put between them. Her head had to be splitting from the broadside of Kisame's face and the thickness of his stubborn skull. It was then that they both saw it. Through the fog of the sullen night there was a cutting luminous shock. Two red eyes glanced up and towards Itachi's direction before the girl darted. Bolted really. She turned and took off into the night. The last thing he saw was the gentle sway of her hair as the breeze caught the silken strands and the glistening ruby eyes disappeared into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Tracking the little shit was about as easy as finding a needle in a muggy wet mud bog filled with several infestations of crawling creatures. Kisame laughed heartily glancing over at Itachi's face. He was cringing slinging mud off the arm sleeve of his cape sighing he shut his eyes and groaned. Kisame was used to all of this and remembered his old home well. There weren't many places that you couldn't go without finding mud and stale stagnant water. He waded through the water at a slower pace than his comrade smirking still. He let a low chuckle escape his throat as the Uchiha growled low in the back of his throat slushing through the water.

"Can the little princess not handle some mud?" he asked grinning. Itachi stopped walking and turned glaring at him with those impudent red eyes.

"Say that again Kisame, I dare you." He said in a low hushed tone.

"Little P-r-i-n-c-e-s-s can't handle a little…."

"Shut up!" Itahci snapped his eyes slipping back to black quickly. Kisame realized the difference between the tone of voice that Itachi was using from the annoyed one he'd had previously.

"What did you hear?" he asked in a smaller voice so he didn't interfere with what the boy was listening too.

"Her breathing." He said glancing at Kisame. "I can hear her breathing, it's labored, like she'd passed out." He said knitting his brows together making a face. Kisame used his shark senses while standing in the water to sense the little brat out. He was right. There was a presence not far away from them hidden deep within a cave laying in a heap at the back of it. He turned looking at Itachi.

"She's out cold. We didn't injure her so who did?" he asked tilting his head to the side.

"I think we should just go find out. I'm done playing around." He snapped back to his old self.

As they approached the mouth of the cave they had to slide several vines of moss and other foliage away from the entrance. The leaves were a dark green shaded with water and mold since there was little sunlight illuminating this side of the swamp. Inside it was dark, cold, moist, and very still. Nothing was moving and there were no sounds but dripping water and the girl's breathing. Kisame touched the wall letting the sound of the water dripping reverberate off the stony rock act as a sort of sonar to guide him through the cave. Itachi let his eyes grow wider and turned red. The Sharingun would help him see what the girl didn't want him to see. They made their way back slowly and carefully attuning themselves and preparing for a self-defense attack. Her chakra gave way that she was passed out but it was moving at a fast rate as if she were trying to wake herself up in a sort of panic. Itachi moved in front of Kisame as they approached her and looked down at her body. She was huddled back against the cave wall laying on her side half in the water. Her eyes were shut but tightly squeezed in pain. Her hair was fanned out around her shoulders some floating in the boggy water, it had fallen out of her hair tie no doubt as she'd run. Itachi bent over her brushing the stray strands from her eyes and listened to her sharp breaths. She was sucking in small quick pants the breath puffing out barely before she'd take another. Her chest was rising and falling at an alarming rate and it appeared that before she'd passed out that she'd ripped off her vest leaving only a black tank beneath bared to the water. She was shivering soaked with the cold water one arm floated out in front of her. He sighed reaching a hand forward and ran it underneath her right side in the water pulling her up into a sitting position. She made a sharp sound like he'd stuck her with a kunai almost making him drop her back into the water. Kisame cringed, the injury probably wasn't a good one if she was breathing this hard and jarring her hurt that bad.

Itachi looked her over now that she was sitting up leaning back against the hard mildew stone face. Her hair stuck to the right side of her face against her cheek, he ran a finger over the angle of her face removing it. She had to be an Uchiha. It was also now that he could see little details that had been hidden in the water. Dark red stains were smeared from the corners of her lips down her chin and across her neck where she'd tried to wipe at it. He looked down also seeing it on the hand that hadn't been in the water. She soughed violently causing him to lean back quickly afraid she was waking up. She groaned in pain involuntarily falling forward gasping, her lungs grated for air, it was like listening to someone who was suffocating. Kisame looked down at his partner as he caught her shoulders to steady her as she continued coughing until finally she hacked up a large amount of sticky dark liquid that splashed into the water between the two. Itachi was rigid while holding her. She most definitely not alright, but he could not find any real physical wound. These were internal wounds and he could almost guess what was causing them. He laid her into his lap slowly trying his best not to jar her again and lent her head on his thigh. His fingers delicately grazed her eyelid before pulling it up. He saw the partial formation of two different Sharingun formations. They were caught between and shifting ranging in size and shape until finally they faded back to normal and they became large eclipsing black discs over the white. He let her lid fall shut gently and took a long breath. It was at that moment that he realized she had woken up.

She pulled in a hard breath and bolted upright scared. She flung an arm out hitting him squarely in the stomach hard. He felt the air rush out of his lungs as she ripped away from him shaking. She was in a half crouch but stumbled in the water barely able to keep herself standing.

"You might want to take it easy there." Kisame said raising an eyebrow.

"You're in no position to be standing let alone defending yourself girl." Itachi quipped rubbing his stomach where she had hit him. Her eyes were half lidded and he knew that she had absolutely no sight at the moment. She was blind in the darkness and could not use the Sharingun to save herself. They finally had her cornered and he could get the answers he was looking for. She stayed very still and was trying desperately to get her breathing under control so that they wouldn't be able to use it as a complete weakness. If she could just get her pulse to a normal level and concentrate her mind on something, anything else, she could stop the panic. As it was however, she was beginning to have another coughing fit. Her chest felt like it was going to explode and her eyes ached severely. Thunder crashed behind her sockets rocking her skull and entire body to her knees. She felt it then; that disgusting wave of nausea that she couldn't stop. She doubled over on her hands and knees puking more dark liquid into the water. Kisame watched knowing that what the girl was going through wasn't far from similar situations he'd seen Itachi in.

"You're eyes are failing." He said putting a hand on his hip.

"No, I think it's more than that." Itachi said walking closer. He put a hand on her back before kneeling in front of her again. She flinched coughing and tried to pull back but he caught her chin forcing her to stay both still and angling her face up towards his.

"Let go of me." She demanded weakly grabbing his wrist. She was relentless, he'd give her that.

"Who are you?" he asked again pumping just a small amount of chakra into her body directing it towards her eyes to clear her vision some. The pain would not subside but at least she could meet his eyes when he was asking her a question.

As her eyes came into focus, a very hazy focus, she saw the outline of Itachi Uchiha's face. His eyes bore into her with a sort of dark intensity that should have scared her instead she found it entrancing. There was an entire world in his eyes. Mostly he seemed tired and worn but there was also a certain sense of determination; a will to finish something. His face was drawn and paler than he probably should have been while the lines under his eyes aged him a few years proving that the boy had some serious baggage deep inside himself. He sighed, his warm breath spread over her face in the dank cave like a blanket. His fingers traveled down from her chin and over her throat catching her mid-breath settling over the vein and applied some pressure.

"I said…who are you?" he used an extremely cold tone of voice.

"I don't know…" she rasped out her grip was weak on his wrist. Her eyes dropped from his sliding down to the black water around them. "I have no idea who I am…who I am born from…I don't know." The pressure on her neck grew densely tight before it was gone completely. She fell forward in surprise before a soft weight caught her and swooped her entire body up. She started to fight back against the strong arms that encapsulated her.

"Then I guess we will have to find out…" Itachi said before cracking her neck. Kisame made a face his shoulders tensed up.

"Aw, now why did you go and do that Itachi?" he said still grossed out.

"She's not dead you idiotic twit." Itachi snapped. "It will just be ten times easier to carry her ass back to the hide out this way." He sighed shaking his head at his partner's stupidity.

"What are you going to do with her? I mean Pein won't…" he started.

"Pein won't know about this. Is that understood?" he snapped glancing back at his partner.

"Yeah ok Mr. Creepy I got it." He rubbed the back of his neck shaking his head.

"I'm serious Kisame. I need to figure out who she is and where she came from." He said in a definite tone. "She's staying in our room until I figure anything else out."

"Then I'm staying in the basement. Have fun with your cousin kid." He laughed as they began walking out to the mouth of the cave.


	3. Chapter 3

Taki woke to the thudding drum of tapping thud thud thudding against the inside of her skull. She shivered grunting and turned on her side shifting through soft cotton sheets. She stiffened. She did not have cotton sheets nor did her legs fit only half way over her bed. They were always curled up against herself because her bed was issued for a general kunoichi not a girl who was taller like her. Her skin prickled in goose bumps as she slowly tried to open her eyes. They ached like a thousand burning suns scorching permanently in the sockets as the light from a burning candle bleached her iris. For a long moment her vision was brilliantly sore before the dull ache began to subside only a fraction. The thudding was still dragging on grating on her senses like a giant machine grumbling through her ears. Everything was amplified. Everything was too loud or too bright. She took a few small daring breaths which reverberated against the walls of the room before trying to sit up. A horrible wave of shockingly strong pain wiped through her head rocking her to her core. She froze halfway up on her elbows and squeezed her eyes shut again sucking in a sharp breath against her teeth to keep from making any other noise. Her thin pale hands gripped the sheets and bed tightly fighting to maintain some dignity about herself. She did not scream. She would not scream but this pain was like lacerations a thousand times worse than she'd ever had in battle. She blandly thought to herself that there was only so much pain these eyes could give her before they gave out and at this point she was almost ready to just go blind. At least then the pain would stop and the nausea. She gulped sweat beading on her brow as her chest and arms grew clammy with strain. That feeling was coming back. She was going to hurl quiet unceremoniously if she didn't get this under control. She sucked her bottom lip in biting down on it hard. She bit it until she tasted iron and salt. There. That was distracting. It quailed her senses and snapped her eyes open as the shockwave rolled through her body. Her eyes were finally processing the dim light around the room as that insistent thudding continued blundering the silence of the room. She let out a long sigh of agitation, frustration, and pain as she glanced around the room.

Itachi watched her with a light amusement. She was ever impatient and wouldn't stop trying to force herself to move. She had no reason to move nor had she for two days. He'd taken the time to roll her over as she threw up in her sleep as well as mop her brow. She'd had a high fever with flushed cheeks since they had traveled back to the base. Itachi, along with the help of Kisame, had smuggled her shaking form into their room safely. He'd put her in Kisame's bed since the elder nin was gracious enough to sleep in his water tank built in the basement. His eyes wandered over her sleeping form. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically in time as he strummed his fingers across his desk. He was leaning on the gleaming dark wood with a propped elbow his eyes half lidded as he let his thoughts wander. He had not forgotten to kill everyone but Sasuke; of that he was sure. There was no chance in hell that he had missed this girl. So then, who was she? Perhaps an experiment of Orichmaru's? Maybe the Mist village had indeed tried to implant a set of eyes and successfully completed the transplant. No. It was not successful. She was sick and her eyes were beginning to fail much like his own. Hers was progressive however. They were advancing past the early stages of sickness and on into the terminal stages. She coughed in her sleep racking her entire ribcage making him cringe for her. He knew that sort of pain all too well. He'd felt it on plenty of occasions when he'd misused and pushed his Sharingan beyond its' limits. Kisame had nursed him back to health several times now from the bed across the room. He had never been as sick as she was though. The unsafe amount of blood that she was puking up multiple times in a row was cause for concern, which was why, after long pause for thought he'd decided to involve Konan. He trusted the blue haired kunoichi on a certain level and when it came to medical assistance this girl would need it. She might choose to tell Pein…she might not…but the fact remained at the end that if he didn't have her looked at she could die before he received the answers he wanted.

He felt his gaze shift over her elongated slender body. Kisame insisted that they change her clothes to something dry so that she didn't die of hypothermia. Itachi had insisted that he wasn't touching her body. If she woke up realizing she was in a new large t-shirt it would not be by his hands roaming over that porcelain flesh. Although he would not admit it to his blue toned friend this woman was appealing. The very thought both shocked him and appalled him because this was his own blood kin. He knew that. He knew that as his gaze drifted up from her wispy ankles to her tight calves to her sinewy thighs, which were only partly open as she slept in his partner's bed. He licked his lips as his fingers drummed harder against the wood top desk. From those hard muscled thighs were gentle hips hidden within the folds of that shirt. That damn shirt. It was hiding part of her that his eyes longed to view. It had been much to long since he'd had a woman companion in his bed. She shifted under the sheets causing the blanket to fall just so off her body that he could barely make out a hint of a bust within the confines of that damn shirt. She was not by any means well-endowed but it was enough to curve that slight frame making her pleasurable in a different sort of manner. She grunted. Her voice echoed softly through his ears and he sat up straighter in his chair listening as she breathed out in pain. Her laboring chest drew tight as she attempted to shift herself up on her elbows. She couldn't. She stayed propped in that position as wheat he figured was pain ripping through her body. He strummed those digits along the desk one more time before her eyes snapped open.

"Will you fucking stop with that damned annoying noise." She hissed as her eyes met his.

"I'm sorry, did you you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" he rose an eyebrow drumming his fingers against the wood one more time. She froze closing her eyes shivering and he saw the nausea sweep through her features. He leaned forward and grabbed a trashcan under the desk by his foot scooting closer to the edge he held it up.

"Go ahead." He said in a softer voice than before as she leaned forward. He caught her forearm holding her slightly to stable her as she hurled blood into the trashcan again. Her eyes went wide with the realization of the amount of blood she had hurled up. She stiffened and tried to scoot back from the can and Itachi tangling herself in the sheets she made a small noise of surprise. He felt her shock and set the can aside before getting up kneeling in front of her on the bed one knee resting against it's edge the other half standing. His hands wrapped around her shoulders holding her still as she fought him. She had regained a great deal of strength back as he found her fighting his grip more annoying than before. She pulled at his grip but could not break loose as he let out a warm soft breath against her skin near to her face. She whimpered then much to his surprise.

"Please, please let go of me!" she nearly shrieked her eyes wildly meeting his. She was scared and sick. It was like watching a cornered animal. Her eyes were red from strain the pupils were dilated and unsteady.

"You are not well. You cannot leave here now." She took unsteady shaking breaths and several heartbeats later Itachi felt her to stop resisting him. She actually relaxed as if in defeat against his touch looking down at the bed.

"You want answers…I can't give them to you." She whispered as her voice was raspy. Her tired wary face was drawn stretched over her bones like a gaunt nightmare. Itachi could barely imagine what she meant by that.

"Then let us start with your name…what is it?" she snorted agitated a fire flickered in those tired eyes as she leaned forward just a hair towards him.

"Uchiha Taki." A brief silence ensued before he furrowed his brows.

"What are you like?" he asked then shook his head a fraction. "I mean…tell me about yourself." He found himself asking.

"Tell you about myself?" she laughed just before seizing up her arms wrapping around her midsection as she wheezed.

"Yes." He said bluntly. "I want to understand you better…" he whispered he tried reaching forward to ghost his fingers over her arms unfolding them. She wanted to pull away he could tell but she didn't, not instinctively anyway.

"I…I don't know." She let out a small gentle noise when his hands ran down the length of her sides. She felt her eyes drift shut despite the fact that he was only searching for what had caused her pain. Oh. Yeah. He didn't know that she had a heart condition that also in retrospect affected her lungs. She thought briefly that she should tell him that…that she should speak, but words were not forming.

"You don't know?" he asked again as those fingers, those able dexterous fingers stopped at her hips.

"I like to d-draw." She sighed as her eyes flittered back open. Itachi felt a weight settle densely in his lower stomach. Her lashes brushed her pale cheeks looking at him again. She let her forehead rest against his as her long ebony locks slipped past her shoulder to meet his bangs. It was like a black shroud that eclipsed them from the world; a veil blocking out all utter thought and reason.

"I think you're fever is coming back Taki." He sighed out taking just one of her slender hands in his.

"I think it is too." She whispered as her cheeks flushed with the evanescent tell tale of blush. He chuckled as the girl's breathing began to slow just before her face slid against his cheek and to his shoulder. She'd barely said more than a light conversation to him before passing out. How curious was this Taki…this girl he didn't know.


	4. Chapter 4

Kisame and Itachi stood outside by a nearby tree watching as the golden sun washed the land with a faint dusted glow. The breeze blew by mingling warm air with the humid breath of the night air that still clung around them. It was barely eleven and the others had gathered outside for a practice and sparing sessions. Konan was inside. She was inside working diligently on Taki as Itachi had asked of her the other night. It had not gone well but it had not been as bad as it could have. She had agreed to the medical treatments if Pein was informed of the girl's presence by the end of the day. She'd actually been impressed that he'd been able to sneak her in to begin with. He was nervous now, actually nervous this morning to discuss the matter with Pein. He grunted leaning back against a tree crossing his arms over his chest watching as some of the others ran about making a nuisance of themselves. Pein seemed just as annoyed but did not openly express his frustrations as the Uchiha. Kisame glanced sideways at his partner noting the tense set of his arms and shoulders. It wasn't like the Uchiha to grow taunt with worry. He smirked chuckling low to himself. The boy was positively a puzzle. Pein stepped forward about to begin the days exercises meant to challenge the young men around him but was stunned into silence as the door to the base slammed open. Well…maybe Itachi wouldn't have to introduce her now…

Taki slammed the front door open her eyes blazing dangerously red half turning to face Konan. Her hair was down around her shoulders softly swinging with the force of movement in which she made. Her muscles and body were tense, her shoulders set in a line with anger. Itachi could barely imagine what was going through Pein's head at that moment. The others had turned to stare in disbelief seeing the Sharingan that the other girl clearly had. Konan had promised Itachi to keep Taki sedated while working on her but apparently that plan had not worked out so well. Konan froze in the doorway biting her lip her eyes sliding towards Pein's face which was still nothing but impassive. Taki took several calming breaths and her hands unclenched from the fists at her sides as she turned to see all the men staring at her. She allowed her eyes to change back to their onyx state controlling her temper only a slight bit more.

"And just who might you be?" Pein asked before giving Itachi a slight glance.

"She's…" Itachi began but Taki beat him to it.

"I don't know who I am. The name I go by is Taki." She answered with an impassive tone which Kisame thought Pein could appreciate.

"I see." He drawled out shifting the weight on one foot to another crossing his arms over his chest causing his robe to rustle with the wind.

"Fuck." Hiden growled narrowing his eyes at her. "You'd be good to use for an offering." To which a kunai imbedded itself within the tree trunk beside his head. Taki had thrown it with a swift agility that he hadn't had time to react.

"I wouldn't try it." Konan said sighing before smiling gently. "Seeing the anger she just came out here with from my trying to give her a needle full of medicine." Taki and Konan locked eyes for a moment before Taki spoke sighing heavily closing her eyes.

"I've spent a lot of my life being poked and prodded with needles and being used for medical experiments." She opened her eyes when she heard someone walking towards her. Itachi moved closely to her side carefully standing beside her as Konan moved around them to make a switch towards Pein.

"I think the questions should be at a minimum. She still isn't entirely well." Itachi spoke his voice a strange low calm tone as if challenging someone to contradict him.

"If you wish her to stay here I will need answers. However…" Pein eyed both Kisame and Itachi before finishing his sentence with a form of finality, "I will grant these questions in private rather than here and now." Itachi grabbed Taki's arm forcing her inside before glaring down at her evenly.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped.

"I woke up to a needle being forced into my arm. Sorry if that means I freaked out a bit!" She hurled the words back at him in a sour tone. She turned to walk away from him which only served to infuriate him more. He grabbed her arm again twirling her slender frame easily pushing her against the wall. He mentally winced realizing exactly how hard he had slammed her back into the wall. He was used to dealing with men not women and he'd forgotten to ease up slightly. Too bad he also forgot this girl was a spitfire. She made a small grunt when her head hit the wall agitated before swiftly stomping her foot over his digging her heel into the center of his where the bones were thinnest. He growled in the back of his throat bringing his face as close to hers as he could without touching her.

"You had better think twice before you speak to me the way you're speaking to me." He warned her.

"You had better get out of my face before I rip those eyes out of your skull." She glared dangerously back up at him. Their eyes were in a deadlock before Itachi realized just how heated she was. Her eyes were dilated more than they should have been, her pale cheeks were flushed warm with fever again, and her breath was coming out in short pants soft against his face.

"Did you even let Konan work on anything for you?" he asked sighing he let go of her arm and reached up to brush stray hairs back from her eyes. She slapped his hand away sinking back against the wall as her eyes slid to the floor. She was stiff and guarded against him now.

"I do not like people with medical abilities." She almost forced out through gritted teeth. "I do not trust them." Well there was always that. He huffed raising an eyebrow looking down at her with question and confusion. For a while he wasn't sure that he was going to get a response as he watched her shift uncomfortably trying to move like she could evade his gaze.

"Why do you hate them so much?" he asked taking his hands off her taking a step back to give her space. His hands slid from her skin causing a feeling of insecurity. She didn't like when he let go of her.

"I hate them because I have lived in cages with people like that hovering around me." She said glancing up at him.

"That's fair enough but you need medical attention. You will go blind and die if you don't let her help you." She snorted crossing her arms over her chest.

"Believe me…Danzo wouldn't let me die if his life depended on it. I'm too valuable of an asset."

Itachi felt floored by that one piece of information. Danzo had been the one keeping hold of this girl? How had she ended up in the Mist if she was working for Danzo and how was she able to say his name? The ANBU ops were not able to talk about Danzo and the Root core had markings to prevent them from sharing any information at all. He looked down at her as a slight panic and worry rose within his chest looking down at her. He grabbed her arm first checking to look for the ANBU mark. Nothing. He sighed taking a breath and against her grunting protests grabbed her jaw forcing her mouth open. Again…nothing. There was no marking on her tongue. If she had had one then that meant…She shoved him off herself angrily the tips of her ears turning a bright shade of red.

"He's already dead. You idiot brother took care of that for me…and my ANBU mark isn't on my shoulder. I wasn't born in Konoha. I'm an operative based in another village to feed information back to Konoha." She glared at him rubbing her jaw.

"Where is it then?" he asked his voice icy. She stiffened for a moment before sighing and her fingers brushed against the hem of her shirt. She flipped up the edge of the right just above her hip. He slowly tried to ignore the burning in the lower part of his stomach as she did this. It was torture. He couldn't stand it. Those delicate fingers only gave him a shred of her skin; a thin pale line of the vast area of her stomach he wanted to unclothe. He saw the dark black tip of the spiral just jutting over the waist of her shorts that Konan had given her. His hand reached forward stilling hers at the wrist. His eyes warily glanced up meeting hers and over her face there was a light blush.

"Get in my room…now" his voice was low and husky.


End file.
